Public Speaking Secrets From President Obama's Speechwriter

By James Mills, Associate Partner & Mentorship Coach, Lighthouse International

"Speeches aren't meant to be read, they're meant to be heard."

- David Litt, Speechwriter for President Obama

David Litt was only 24 years old when he started writing speeches for President Obama. It was not a career opportunity he planned to pursue, but things changed when he heard a stirring speech given by Mr Obama in Iowa back in January 2008. Ever since he looked to recreate the same levels of passion and inspiration through crafting speeches for the former President. Imagine the pressure of writing speeches where every word is scrutinised by the world's media!

In this video Mr Litt shares how important personal passion and other people are in the process of facing such pressure. We may not have our speeches broadcasted to the world, but there's a lot we can learn from him about mastering the art of communication to convey powerful messages...

My passion is education because I feel that so many more people would be able to lead happier, more successful and fulfilling lives if we all had access to a more inspiring education system. My vision is that we have an inspiring teacher in every classroom; I realise that there’s plenty to be done in order to bring that to life, but committed to doing what it takes to bring together the people and resources to make that happen.

As an Associate Partner at Lighthouse International and Co-Founder of Lighthouse Kidz I am committed to developing my ability to bring together emerging leaders and social entrepreneurs to make a positive difference in the world. Presently I’m working on a variety of initiatives such as bringing together the people, expertise and resources to ensure that everyone has access to clean water.